Friday, April 18, 2014

I'm a huge sci-fi nerd and comic book geek, so whenever I see any exhibit from the science fiction genre I always get a little more excited than by other displays. On my latest outing to Universal Studios Hollywood on April 15, 2014, to check out their latest offering of screen-used costumes and props, my heart almost skipped a beat with I glimpsed these Cylons from Battlestar Galactica and Caprica on display.

Battlestar Galactica and Caprica Cylons

on display at Universal Studios Hollywood

Before anyone points it out, yes I know that the Cylon Centurion is actually an animatronic prop used in The Battle of Galactica attraction on Universal Studios famousride-along backlot Tour from 1979 to 1992, which took place within a Cylon ship, but it's still pretty cool, especially as the moving red eye visor still works.

The attraction was based on the 1978 hit TV series by Glen A. Larson, which capitalised on the popularity of Star Wars on the big screen, and reportedly cost $7 million (or even more) to make the first seven hours (which included the pilot episode) and you could really tell the production values. I absolutely loved the original Battlestar Galactica when I was a child (and don't get me started on Buck Rogers) and hated when the spacefaring series came to an end.

Meanwhile the other futuristic-looking robot prop is actually from the TV show Caprica, which was a prequel to the modern day revival of Battlestar Galactica. The show followed the lives of two families, the 'Graystones' and the 'Adamas', and the evolution of the robotic Cylons on the planet Caprica of the Twelve Colonies.

U-87 Cylon prototype TV prop from Caprica

In the series the Cylons were designed by Graystone Industries to be soldiers, this U-87 prototype or 'Cybernetic Lifeform Node' was a design homage to the original series Cylon Centurions (without their shiny silver exterior). This prototype robot body housed the avatar consciousness of 'Daniel Graystone's' deaddaughter, 'Zoe', who died in a terrorist attack but whose virtual self lived on and was downloaded into this robotic model.